Fire in the Water, Katniss Everdeen
by finock
Summary: Starts off when Catching Fire ends but with a different twist. Katniss Everdeen is now captured by the Capitol and is being tortured. Rated M for torture & stuff. (So I had this crazy idea ever since I finished reading Mockingjay & I know that I'm not the only one that's thought of this. I still have a million & one ideas so please don't judge until I completely finish, enjoy!)
1. Fire in the Water

"Rise and shine!" A great splash of water drenched the unconscious girl. Water filled the small spaced room as another bucket of iced water was flung her direction. A loud gasp slipped from her lips as she immediately sat up. The men at the door roared with laughter, muttering words between themselves as they shut the metal door. The girl scarcely glanced around her cramped room. There was no sunlight; windowless. But, just enough space for her to curl on the ground. _There goes my escape plan_, she thought. She leaned her head back on the wall, taking small but even breaths.

"_Breathe, Katniss." Nine year old, Katniss Everdeen gripped onto the nearest branch while she hyperventilated. Her father stood close by and begun a routine of inhaling and exhaling deeply until Katniss caught on. _

"_I… can-. " The child began but her father was quick. His hand was placed on her small back and applied pressure onto her until she knelt forward. _

"_Focus on the ground. Notice the stillness of the dirt, the color, the roughness that it carries. Focus on that, Katniss." The voice of her father always remained the same; steady. Katniss concentrated on her father's instructions until the rhythm of her heart thumped regularly. A minute passed until Katniss carried enough strength to ask her next question._

"_How… how do you do it?" _

"_Do what, Kat?" Not one could pull off that nickname but there was smoothness in her father's voice when he said it. _

"_That. Be so… calm." Her fingertips curled onto the ground and felt the warm sand slip into her nails. Usually Katniss attempted to keep her game face on whenever her father brought her to the woods. But that hope was cut short when a wolf pranced over her smallish figure. So much for showing her father that she was brave. _

"_The trick, Kat, is to believe that anything that frightens you is more terrified of you than you could ever imagine." Katniss finally glanced up and gave her father a puzzled face. _

"_I don't understand" _

"_Why do you think the wolf attacked you?" Her father smiled and slowly sat next to his daughter. _

"_Because animals are territorial, you told me so." It was one of her first lessons that she was given when she first stepped into the woods. _

"_That's true. Very good," Her father nodded at her response. "But, this was a lone wolf. Usually these particular animals travel in packs and this one was far from home. Maybe he was looking for food, shelter, a mate. Whatever the matter was is this, he was alone. But he saw you, an unknown creature that roamed into his forest. He didn't know what you were or if you were a threat. So how did he respond?" He stayed silent for a while and waited for Katniss' answer. _

"_He attacked?" She could never predict if her answer was the right one when it came to her father. _

"_Yes, out of panic. And that's how Panem will always look at someone who's different. The key is not to let fear win. You'll have to overcome the emotion and know that you're in control of the situation. Agreed?" Now she didn't always believe that her father was right but his words always gave her a certain comfort that she wanted to believe in his words. Nine year old Katniss nodded happily to her father. _

Katniss brought her knees up towards her chest and she looked forward to the metal door. These peacekeepers weren't afraid of her. They were afraid of her weapon that she had no chance in getting. _Bet you didn't think about this one, Dad_. She thought as she shut her eyes. She had to try to remember the last thing that happened. How did she get here? Where was she? How long has she been here?

A flash of District 12 appeared along with short images of Prim, Gale, her mother, and Peeta. Peeta. The Games. _No_._ No_. All the actions she made in the arena were to save Peeta. This was a mistake. She shouldn't be here. She should be dead along with the other tributes. If she was kept as a prisoner did that mean that so was Peeta?

"Peeta," she whispered. "Peeta" Her eyes quickly opened as she stood up. Where was Peeta? Did they capture him too? Did he get away from the other tributes? Did he win the Games? Was he slaughtered in the way to save her? The questions multiplied through each giving second. She began to pound on the metal door while she shouted Peeta's name in unison.

"Where's Peeta?! Peeta! Please!" The longer she yelled the weaker her voice got. Minutes turned into hours until a voice interrupted her own.

"Open" One of the peacekeepers mumbled through the other side of the door. Here was her moment. A chance to escape. After all, how hard was it to get through a couple of peacekeepers? She won the first Games. The door slowly began to open and Katniss almost flung against the gap before to peacekeepers leaped forward and grabbed her from each arm.

"Where's Peeta?! Tell m-" The wind was knocked out of her lungs when a peacekeeper punched her stomach. She inhaled deeply before another strike hit her gut. Her body hunched as two peacekeepers gripped her from each arm and dragged her down the hallway. Katniss kept her eyes glued onto the floor and allowed the men take her anywhere. A few minutes passed and they finally arrived to their destination.

Katniss was strapped onto a machine in the middle of the room, unable to move but a single inch. Not a single noise was heard but the fiddle of the peacekeeper checking for any mistakes on the machine. Finally he stepped back and gave the other one a nod. Katniss frowned but the confusion disappeared when a zap of electricity wiggled through her body.

"_OW_!" _Young Katniss rubbed her fingers immediately after touching the electric fence. The day was long and unfortunately the Everdeen's were stuck in the forest until the power turned off. _

"_I told you that it would still be on, Kat." Her father waited patiently on a rock as he skinned the deceased squirrel. _

"_I know. I just want to go home." The ten year old sighed. _

"_I've already showed you how the fence works. You should remember." He eyes never left the work on his hands as he talked. _

"_But it's hard. I can't hear a single thing." She looked at the fence and back at her father, "Dad?" She figured that he would have stood up to fix the problem but he continued to skin their meal. _

"_You know how." He said calmly. _

_Katniss slowly pressed her ear closer to the fence and shut her eyes. She tried to ignore the noises from the forest and focus on the quiet hum that scurried through the fence but heard nothing. 'Finally', she thought. She smiled and placed her entire hand against the fence when a sudden shock ran through her. The pain slowly rose within seconds until a scream finally escaped her lips. _

The screaming only got louder. How long has she been screaming for? Two minutes? Ten? An hour? Katniss' head hung once the power stopped. Each muscle in her body tensed and her fingers shook uncontrollably. The peacekeepers finally moved away but only to open a door. Footsteps slowly approached the fallen mockingjay.

"Miss Everdeen, we meet again." The smell of blood filled her nose when her eyes met the President.


	2. Scream

"I assume she can hear me." The President looked back at one of his Peacekeepers to only find an approval nod.

She could hear him alright but the strain in her throat blocked her from making a single peep.

"Fantastic!" Snow clapped his hands happily as he roamed around the room, beaming at the toil his workers accomplished. "Just fabulous." Another pleased comment slipped from his venom mouth. "Is she able to move?" The President continued asking his bleak questions until he suddenly stopped.

Katniss wiggled her index finger which happened to be the only part of her that could move.

_"Try again" Katniss' father instructed her. She had been laying on the ground for a few minutes now and hadn't been able to gain full control of her body. _

_But the tears in her eyes only filled when an after zap ran through her tiny hand._

_"Katniss, I need you to try. Try, honey." The image of her fathers worried face was the first thing Katniss remembered after she gripped the electric fence. _

_The numbing of her muscles made it impossible for her to wiggle anything but her father was persistent and repeated the same instructions to her. Time slowly ticked on and her father still continued on. _

_"Can you talk?" He asked. Katniss said nothing in fear that she could cry or scared that her throat wouldn't work anymore. _

_"Can you move any of your fingers for me?" _

_Katniss' eyes glanced over to her hands to only watch how they failed her just like the rest of her form did. _

_"Kat, I'm going to need you to ask your brain to move your fingers. You could do it, come on. Tell your brain to move your fingers."_

_She closed her eyes and repeated her fathers words until her index finger slowly followed along to the rhythm. 'Tell my brain to move my fingers'. _

_"You did it! Great job, Kat!" Her father clapped and even chuckled with relief. "I know you're afraid, Kat. But the pain is all going to fade in a few minutes. Right now your muscles have tightened but you're going to have to listen to me if you want to get through this. Alright?" Katniss moved her index finger to signal yes. _

_Together they made the pain cease. Her father gave Katniss a few tricks on how to ignore the pain by pointing at random objects in the forest and giving a few interesting facts about the item. Finally she was able to mumble a few words and stumble on their way home until her mother cured her a bit more. _

"Miss Everdeen, are you listening?" The President interrupted Katniss train of thought. Her eyes glanced from the floor onto the wicked mans eyes. A knot in the back of her throat formed when her spit suddenly splattered against his cheerful face.

A peacekeeper rushed to pull Snow away and clean the saliva off his face while the other rushed towards Katniss and hit her stomach.

"Give her another!" A touch of rage finally touched Snow's voice when he shoved the peacekeeper from his touch.

Not a minute later Katniss felt another zap scurry through and heard her scream again. Her fingers extended to reach or grip for any support but fell blank. The zap stopped to only feel it within five seconds apart from the other.

"Enough" Snow said. Katniss' head hung along with her hands. Her breaths were heavy as she tried to gain consciousness.

"All of this should be less painful if you just worked with us, Miss Everdeen" Snow placed his hands on the other while he watched the fallen tribute.

Katniss mumbled a few words but silent enough that no one understood her.

"Sorry?" He leaned further in to listen and she mumbled the second time.

"Sorry, I'm having trouble understanding you." And she mumbled the third time.

"Just kill me already" Like she was supposed to die in the Quarter Quell. He might as well get it over with. She already had her peace with death.

"Why would I do that?" He seemed puzzled. "No, no, no. Well you will die, don't get me wrong, Miss Everdeen. Just not today. No, I have another idea for you. A solution if you will."

Katniss kept her eyes locked on the presidents and watched how amused he was with his own private joke.

"This is merely just the first stage of your torment. I suppose that there's no damage in telling you now. You, Miss Everdeen, have caused a huge dent to our government. Districts rebelled, people question their command, tributes joined together, no, no. The harm you did in the past year alone was hectic enough." Snow walked around the room as he rambled on. "I didn't hesitate when I saw that look in your eye. That look that showed promise. Whether it was to save that lover boy of yours or to destroy the arena. We swept you up immediately along with others."

'_Others_?'

"Oth'rs?" Katniss found her voice. "Where's 'eeta?" The crack in her tone made it appear weak but she was regaining strength. "What have you done to Peeta?!" There it was, she found it. "Tell me what you did to Peeta!" She didn't care much for the rest of the tributes that were with her in the arena.

The peacekeeper reached for the button again but Snow raised his hand to stop him.

"So you _do_ care for the boy? Interesting. I'll keep that in mind." He asked with a smile. "Gentlemen, if you would be so kind to show the_ Mockingjay_ back to her cell. We're done for the day." Snow bowed his head towards Katniss and left with grin.

The men untied her from the machine to only drag her back through the hallways until they reached the smallish room. They threw her in without a carefulness and locked the doors once they were closed.

Katniss curled onto the floor and stared at the wall while the questions rushed through her head once again. Whatever Snow was planning, this was only the beginning. He wouldn't kill her. He would find the perfect moment and place to do it.

Just as she closed her eyes to rest she heard a noise come from the walls.

"Hello?" Her voice croaked but nothing responded. "Hello?" She repeated.

"Hello?" A familiar voice whispered back.

"Finnick?"

"Katniss?" He asked back.

The first smile on her lips appeared. She wasn't alone.


	3. Hanging On

_Air tickled through Katniss' back as waited for her prey. Usually her father captured the animals but he was no longer here. It had been exactly 35 days since his death and Katniss' mother had failed as a parent. Prim and Katniss were looking like live skeletons but that didn't motivate their mother to move. Their only hope was the burnt bread that the bakers son, Peeta Mellark, threw to Katniss. The food was more than enough to keep her and her sister alive a bit longer. Now Katniss roamed through the forest searching for anything; squirrels, fish, birds. _

_Her eyes stalked a rabbits hole. Waiting. Minutes ticked on and nothing but a simple breeze filled her stomach. _

_"Patience, Katniss" she said aloud. It was her fathers famous words to her. "Patience always pays off", the words fell from her mouth like a rehearsed poem. _

_Katniss glanced behind her where she would usually find her father hovering but instead had a tree as company. _

_She couldn't recall how many hours she had been hunting for food. Prim and her mother were probably worried sick and starving. But Katniss couldn't return empty-handed. _

_Instead she waited longer. _

_It was her first time in the woods without her father. Soon her brain lingered from the food to her father. How he left too soon. How she would spend the rest of her life without sharing another moment with him. How lonely she felt. _

_Katniss had spent the last month worrying about who would feed Prim and herself that she didn't really pay attention to her fathers death. His name was never mentioned at home and people around District 12 never made eye contact with Katniss since. Maybe because they felt sorry. Who knew. _

_The tip of her fingers carved around her bow. A gift that her father made her just a few months before his passing. _

_"Miss you" she mumbled. _

Katniss' eyes filled quickly with water. Fearing that she would cry, she took a deep breath and waited before speaking.

"It's so good to hear your voice." She croaked out. The situation was terrible but at least she wasn't alone.

The death of her fathers tore a hole in Katniss' heart, yet the fear of being alone scared her much more. With time Prim became her priority and soon she met Gale. Then the Games happened and that feeling immediately came back. Peeta protected her from it but for only an amount of time.

Finnick exhaled a small chuckle, "Back at you."

Her forehead touched the wall and attempted to control her breathing. 1, 2, 3, 4...5

"Finnick?"

"Yea?"

"What have they done to you?"

Silence.

"Finnick?"

"They, uh, dragged me to a room. Took a few whips to the back."

The image of the peacekeepers torturing Finnick made her flinch. She had seem first hand how hurtful they were.

"What about you?" He cleared his throat.

Katniss kept quiet for a couple of seconds, "Snow interrogated me." More like he talked while they electrocuted her.

"What did they do to you?" He wasn't very surprised that Snow was behind this.

She ignored his question and instead asked him, "You've seen him?"

"Snow stood in front of me. Said he wanted to watch my pain."

Katniss pushed herself off the floor and placed her back against the wall. What was Snow planning? And why keep two Victors locked up. Why not just execute them already?

"What happened, Finnick?" The last thing Katniss remembered was the lighting tree and then, darkness.

"The hovercrafts came and carried us out. I'm not sure if Beetee made it."

The Games seemed like a year ago. How long had she been here for? A day? A few hours?

"What about the rest? Johanna? Peeta?" Snow had failed to give her any information about Peeta.

"I'm not sure."

Katniss nodded and brought her knees towards her chest. Maybe it'd be better that Peeta was dead. Her face hid between her legs, crying quietly. She wanted to believe that he was dead. Otherwise Snow would use him to hurt Katniss and that would be the worst type of punishment.

_"NO!" Katniss sat up from the bed, waking from a nightmare. Her face was dripping in sweat while her hands shook uncontrollably. Familiar hands covered her own and leaned in behind her. The movement startled her that almost caused her to elbow the stranger. But the voice quickly soothed her. _

_"I'm here," he whispered in her ear. It was the a few days before the Quarter Quell and Peeta had spent the night. "I'm here," he repeated. _

_One of his hands released hers and slid it on her back where he gently rubbed her. "I'm here." he said again._

_Her pants calmed to the rhythm of his breathing. Calm. _

_Katniss interlocked her fingers with his and held his hand tightly. The only time she allowed any sort of affection were moments like these. Peeta was the only one that understood what she was going through. Not Prim or Gale knew about her countless nightmares and how she woke every night, screaming Rue's name. On 'good' nights she only woke to her punching and kicking anything near her. _

_"The Careers were surrounding me. They were pinning me down and-" Katniss couldn't continue. She had very few dreams where the Careers picked at her like an animal after attacking her first. _

_Peeta already knew about this particular nightmare. His knuckles tightened each time he heard it but remained silent each time she told it. He knew that she had to get the story out. _

_"You're here now. I'm here." He whispered. Peeta never told her 'things are going to be ok' or 'it's just a dream', because it was much more complicated than that and he didn't want to lie. He knew it would never get better._

_She turned to face him. _

_Peeta untangled his fingers from hers and placed his hand on her cheek. _

_"I'm here." The words were so simple but they made her feel safe. _

_She nodded, rested her forehead against his and lightly gave him a kiss._

"Katniss?" Finnick asked.

Tears hit the floor like rain that nothing she said would make sense.

"You're not alone, Katniss."

But she did feel alone.

Her father wasn't here for guidance. Prim wasn't here to protect. She didn't have her best friend. And now Peeta was ripped from her.

All she had left was Finnick. But for how long?

"Did Snow tell you what he has planned for us?" She finally asked.

"He didn't say much. But from the looks of things... this is only the beginning."

Katniss took a deep breath and lifted her head.

"We need to get out, Finnick."

"And how are we going to do that?"

"I'm not sure yet. But we have to."


	4. Look Down

_Inhale...exhale...inhale...exhale_...

Katniss repeated this motion several times until her breathing went back to normal. After the talk with Finnick happened the two victors planned on having each others back, no matter the cost. Katniss would take the first shift on staying awake and promised to wake Finnick the second she heard movement outside.

The space in the small closet she was locked was probably the size to contain two dogs. That's what her and Finnick were to them anyways, animals.

Katniss laid her back to the wall, bringing her knees to her chest and kept her arms to her side while her eyes stalked the door.

_"You have to sleep sometime, Katniss.." Peeta whispered. _

_It was at the first Games and Peeta had been feeling a little bit better and Katniss hadn't slept yet. _

_"I'm not tired.." She responded, which was a lie. Her eyes felt heavy but she couldn't take a chance. Even if she was giving affection for Peeta for the audience, she also couldn't risk losing him. _

_"I'll stay up-" Peeta placed his hands on the ground and was about to push himself off the ground when Katniss stopped him. _

_"Go back to sleep, Peeta. You need your strength." She brushed her fingers along his face, caressing him mainly for the show and because Prim always enjoyed being touched on her face before she slept. She continued tracing the lines of his jaw and under his eyes until he finally knocked out. _

_Time alone, especially in the night, was the most lethal. Mostly because anyone could sneak up on you and because sleeping in the Games was dangerous. _

_Katniss carved her fingers into the sand each time she dozed off. _

_Under her breath she began to hum an old lullaby,_

_"Down in the valley, the valley so low. Hang your head over, hear the wind blow. Hear the wind blow, hear the wind blow; hang your head over, hear the wind blow. Roses love sunshine, violets love dew. Angels in Heaven know I love you.."_

_She glanced down at Peeta, running her fingers through his hair and hummed the rest of the song. Impossible at it seemed, Katniss stayed up until morning came. _

"How long was I out?" Finnick's hoarsely waking voice bounced to Katniss' wall.

"Hard to tell" At least in the Games you were able to see sunlight, here the walls didn't have a single window so everything was pitch black, "go back to sleep.." Katniss said. She didn't know if two hours passed or much longer went but she still had enough energy to keep going.

"Alright, wake me-"

"I will" She agreed quickly.

A couple of footsteps began to head towards the rooms, Katniss sat straight and cleared her voice before saying Finnick's name.

The shuffle in his room made her think he woke up. She stared down the door until it slowly opened. Perhaps to take caution before taking the girl on fire. But Katniss remained sitting down, if they wanted her then they would have to force her out.

"Up" One of the peacekeepers commanded.

Katniss glanced at the ground, keeping quiet.

"I said up" He repeated.

Again she stayed in place.

"I'm not going to ask again" His voice deepened and Katniss closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. Once she exhaled a strong force hit her on the side of her face.

She woke up in a different room than the last one. Cuffs were pinning her down to a metal table and only one light pointing towards her. Unable to move a single muscle she stayed put and closed her eyes to keep her calm.

"Ah, Ms. Everdeen" That haunting voice creeped behind her. Katniss kept quiet and opened her eyes, glancing at the bulb above her.

"Keeping quiet are we?" President Snow asked as he stood next to her. "I would have thought that you would be pleased to see me," A poisonous smile spread across her face. "I assume you just don't want to answer. So I'll speak. In our last meeting, I spoke of how unhappy I was with your actions that have played out throughout my country."

President Snow inhaled with a cheerful smile and ran his hand along her forearm. Katniss didn't even realize that they stripped her from her arena uniform and instead was wearing almost nothing but a old tan dress that reached her knees. Someone had changed her while she was unconscious. Snow continued to trail his hand down until he touched he hand and shrugged as he tangled both his hands together and watched Katniss.

"Shame. You would have done fine in the Capitol along with our other prizes-"

"You mean being sold" Katniss finished his sentence.

"Ah, so she speaks," He looked so proud. "Now, Ms. Everdeen. In order for my districts to return back to ordinary, I need something from you."

"You need me to die." She guessed.

"Well, yes. But first I need you to speak a couple of words about our beloved government about how we're here to protect the people from rebels like yourself-"

"Protect?" She cut him off.

"Now Ms. Everdeen are we going to have a civil conversation or do I have to bring in some help?" He glanced over in the directions where she assumed the peacekeepers were at. She glanced back up to the bulb as a sign for him to continue.

"In just a short while, people will come in here and fix you up. Prepare that pretty face for the cameras because you will be interviewed for millions to see the great Mockingjay caught. I assure that you won't do anything stupid like injure my people? Or else you will be taken down that instant-"

"I'm already dead" Katniss said. In reality, she was dead the second her sisters name was reaped since the first Games. She had been avoiding death but maybe it was time to greet him as a friend.

"Let me correct myself, Ms. Everdeen. Or else we will take down someone you love. Perhaps your sister, mother, your lover boy...take your pick. Do I make myself clear?"

Katniss locked eyes with the devil himself and nodded.

"Fabulous. Shall we begin?" Snow clapped his hands and the lights to the room all turned on and he began to walk towards the door.

"Now remember, Ms. Everdeen. The whole world will be watching. Do not disappoint me." The president warned her before he exited and the make up crew came rushing in after him.

Ready to start a new games for the girl on fire.


	5. Emotionless

This new prep team was nothing like Katniss' old one. They didn't compliment her, speak, or even acknowledge her existence. Almost if they were warned not to say a single thing towards the 'rebel'. Not that Katniss was complaining. She was enjoying the silence. It allowed her mind to wonder and her eyes to shift and observe every inch of the room. Usually two peacekeepers followed her to each room, the most have been three but she didn't know how many stood behind each door. How she would reach a weapon. All she needed was an object, a heavy one at that to help her escape. That and she couldn't leave without Finnick.

It was another form of the Games but still needed a strategy on how to escape. What if they had Peeta? Were they just keeping him until she did something to slip up? She couldn't risk hurting Peeta or her family. Maybe if they killed her then they would leave them alone. At least, that's what she hoped for.

Time ticked away and finally her team finished with strapping her on to a white tight dress. Mostly her entire wardrobe was white. There was no mirror to see the teams results, but she could only expect that her whole make-up screamed 'Capitol material'.

"Am I going to have to knock you out again?" The peacekeeper approached Katniss. She shook her head and stood from the table. "Follow me then." He walked towards the door and Katniss went behind him. Three other peacekeepers followed, one on each side of her and another behind her.

Katniss peeked between the peacekeepers gaps and studied each room that they passed through, how many guards stood watch and exactly which halls they went by.

Finally they arrived to a very well furnished room. To her surprise, a somewhat friendly face appeared.

"My, my, my, Katniss Everdeen!" Caesar Flickerman opened his arms and walked towards her. But the peacekeeper stepped in front immediately.

"No contact with the rebel"

"Now, my good sir. You can't possibly expect me to conduct this interview without a good old hug. President Snow sent me here personally for a reason." Whether it was the charm of his voice or the fact that the peacekeeper didn't care that much, Caesar gave Katniss two cold kisses on each cheek.

"Nice to see you again, Ms. Everdeen" He held her hands, smiling as always.

"I'd love to say the same thing about you" She said back. The peacekeeper turned quickly but Caesar patted her cheek and laughed.

"Always a jokester, this one is" He stepped back and admired the girl on fire. No smile appeared on Katniss in exchange and kept quiet. Caesar inhaled happily and guided her towards one of the bright white couch.

"Any water? A glass of -" Caesar began but the Peacekeeper shot a glance at him that stopped him on his tracks, "very well, good sir"

"You'll be on in two, Mr. Flickerman." One of Caesar's men said.

Katniss sat straight, looking at the room instead of trying to make small talk with Caesar that insisted on keeping his dumb smile and making small comments about how glad he was to see her.

"5, 4, 3, 2-" The camera crew counted and pointed at Caesar on queue that they were live.

"Hello and good morning, Panem! Today I have very, very special guest with me. A guest that you won't believe your eyes! I have with me, our very own Katniss Everdeen!" He gestured to Katniss with his famous wide smile and laugh.

Katniss nodded at the camera and forced herself to smile.

"Tell me, Katniss, what was running through your mind in the last few moments in the Games?"

She kept quiet, unsure how to answer without getting in trouble. Caesar must have seen her hesitating because he cut in afterwards.

"I bet you were scared out of your wits. First, to betray friends and the man you love. But especially because of the baby."

The baby, right, she has 'pregnant'.

"I lost the...the baby." She said quietly. The reaction of Caesar's face dropped and sighed.

"What a terrible loss. But let me ask you this, why split up with Peeta in the end? You were so determine to stick together." She hadn't heard Peeta's name from another persons lips than her own. Katniss kept quiet and glanced at the floor.

"Splitting wasn't what we wanted but it seemed like it was the only choice.." She cleared her voice, interlocking her fingers.

"I'm sorry to say this, Katniss. But a lot of the viewers thought that Peeta was playing for his own, that he worked some deal with the careers. Maybe Johanna would have taken care of you-"

"No" She quickly shook her head. The Capitol wasn't going to wiggle in her head and make her think differently of Peeta. They were a team from the minute they were reaped together until the very end.

"But-"

"No" She disagreed again.

"I'm sorry. It breaks my heart, truly, it doe-"

"No, it doesn't. It doesn't because you don't know Peeta the way I do. He would never go against me. Never. He didn't know what Johanna or the rest of them were planing to do!" The peacekeeper behind the cameras lifted a weapon and gave her a dirty look. Katniss pressed her lips together and shut her mouth.

"Okay, okay. My deepest apologizes, Ms. Everdeen. I just wanted to mention some thoughts that the audience had-"

"Well, don't"

_"I don't know how you do it." Katniss laid next to Peeta with her head against his chest. _

_It was a few days before the Quarter Quell started and the two had spent every night together. _

_"What do you mean?" Peeta frowned as he continued to stroke Katniss' hair. _

_"Lie to everyone and make them believe you. How to stand in front of everyone." _

_"I just tell them what they want to hear. That's all it is." _

_it wasn't as simple as he made it seem to be. The audience loved him. Peeta just had that quality about him. A strong energy that he had always carried around with him, he always made friends at school and spoke to almost everyone in District 12. Katniss, on the other hand, was terrible at keeping a conversation more than five minutes long. _

_"Easy for you to say" Katniss said.  
_

_"You can do it too. Just remember how perfect the Capitol wants us to be and stick by that script." Tomorrow was their interview with Caesar Flickerman which made Katniss' stomach twirl. _

_"I'll try.." _

_"Let's not think about tomorrow. Okay? Let's just get some rest." Peeta whispered while his hand rubbed her lower back. Slowly she fell asleep and the interview was the last of her worries. _

"Ms. Everdeen?" Caesar kept his eyes locked on hers. Expecting an answer to a question she didn't listen to.

"Yes. Sorry. What was the question?"

Caesar reacted by forcing a laugh and nodded, "There's been talk among some districts about a rebellion-" A seriousness shifted in his tone. "A rebellion that will possibly rip this nation apart. Many think that you're in danger, that you're being held as a hostage. But, that's not the case, is it?"

Katniss' face changed from confused to shocked to happy and finally upset.

She knew how to respond. What the people from the Capitol wanted to hear.

"I'm doing fine. The Capitol has given me a private room and has cared for me." The words tasted like blood as she talked.

"What you're saying is you're here willingly?"

"Yes"

"Well, I might say that the Capitol does have that affect. Many victors who come just can't seem to leave." He started to laugh but Katniss forced another smile. "What would you like to tell the people of Panem about the rebellion? What would be your advice?"

At a young age, Katniss learned what to say and not to say when it came to her opinion. She knew that her mouth would get her in trouble or most importantly, her family. Saying the truth hurts others in the process. But if there was a chance of changing Panem, then should she risk it? Put everyones lives in danger?

"Katniss?" Caesar's voice interrupted her thoughts.

"They should"

"I'm sorry?" Either Caesar couldn't understand her or he was giving her another chance to change her answer.

Katniss glanced from Caesar to the peacekeepers, feeling her heartbeat increase. Every voice screamed in her head, telling her to stop, to correct her mistake. But this was her chance. Maybe the only one.

"The districts should rebel against the Capitol" Katniss' voice was more firm.

"Wait, I don't understa-" Caesar started but one of the peacekeepers was already charging at Katniss. His hand wrapped around her neck, knocking her to the ground and raised his baton to her. A strong whip hit her rib cage that knocked the wind out of her. Usually the violence that the peacekeepers make is behind the scenes but they wanted Panem to watch what happens when you disobey the mighty Capitol.

Immediately Katniss covered her face with her arms.

"Take her!" The peacekeeper yelled. The other two guards quickly grabbed each one of her arms, picking her up and held her still while the other began to hit her with the baton. Each time she caught her breathing, she raised her leg to kick him in his sensitive spot. After the second hit, another peacekeeper came to view and whacked the back of her head, making her unconscious.


	6. Whispering

"Tie her up!" A man's voice echoed through the room.

Arms gripped the fallen tribute to a metal table. The white dress that was once glued to her body was now forgotten on the floor.

"Wha-wha ar ou oing" Katniss' lips tried to form a sentence but only managed to squeeze those few words. Her body was nearly exposed if it weren't for her undergarments.

"You should have listened when I gave you the chance, Ms. Everdeen." Katniss didn't have an ounce of energy to lift her head to find out where the President was hiding.

"I don-"

"I wouldn't talk if I were you, Ms. Everdeen." His poisonous voice seemed to get closer. "I gave you an opportunity to go out the easy way. But you, you love to shaken things up. You are forcing me to make actions that I'm not happy to make. Actions that will bring death. Possibly to the ones you love-"

"Stay away from th-!" The wind was knocked from her lungs as a peacekeeper whacked her with a baton right on the stomach. Her hands gripped around the chains, inhaling all she could.

"Rebels don't win. Rebels don't rule. Rebels don't get a happy ending." Snow's face grew close enough that their noses were almost touching. Katniss wanted to lean up to bite the monster, to cause any damage she could before they killed her. But she couldn't find the energy to.

President Snow straightened his back, fixed his suit and began to head towards the door. One of the peacekeepers followed and stopped to hear the rest of his instructions and nodded after Snow whispered into his ear. The door closed behind President Snow and the peacekeeper that he spoke to walked towards Katniss and smirked.

"Grab the bucket" He instructed.

Katniss' confused face was immediately washed away when a cloth covered her face and within a second a waterfall fell onto the item. Chunks of water fell into her nose which caused Katniss to cough it out and breath unevenly. But once she gathered her breath, another round came onto her.

_"Breathe, Katniss!" _

_Katniss and her father had been out in the lake since the morning trying to perfect Katniss' swimming. But, she couldn't seem to find the balance and always sunk to the bottom of the lake. Water collapsed over her tiny figure and always stole the wind from her. Impossible it was. Katniss' father had jumped in several times to save his daughter in time before she drowned. But five minutes later, he sent her back inside the lake. _

_"I can't!" Her feet and arms weren't syncing together and the lake swallowed her body whole once again. _

_"Take small breaths, Kat. _

_"Dad!" Katniss gulped the water before she went down again. This time her body was in control and wasn't allowing her to swim her way to the top. Her arms reached to the surface only to fail and opened her mouth to scream for help but swallowed more. _

_She could already watch the life slowly drift away before an arm reached hers and pulled her out of the water. _

_Her back was placed on the dirt while she coughed out the water. Her father gave her small but hard pats on the back to get rid of anything else she had in her system. _

_"That's it...breathe. Never forget to breathe.." Her father said calmly. _

_After a few minutes he convinced her to return back into the lake. Said that fear couldn't overcome her mind. _

_"Once it controls you, you lost who you are. Don't forget that." _

_At the moment she didn't want to understand but still followed her fathers words. She took deep breaths before the water dragged her back down and each time the rhythm of her body got the hang of it. _

Water poured out of Katniss' mouth as the peacekeepers pulled her off the table. Her head hung along with the rest of her body as the guards dragged her back to her chambers. They didn't bother giving her dry clothes or at least try to cover her up. Probably because they hadn't finished.

The door locked shut and Katniss was curled into the corner, shaking as she tried to catch her breath.

"Katniss?" Finnick's voice cut through Katniss' flashbacks.

Nothing came from her lips and instead she laid on the ground, taking small breaths.

"Katniss?" Finnick kept repeating her name until her eyes gave into exhaustion.

After the first Games, half of Katniss' dreams were nightmares and the ones that weren't always started off with her being in the meadow. This time, she dreamed about being in Peeta's arms. How warm and strong they felt against her skin. They usually didn't sleep together but the moments that they did, she dreamed peacefully. Somehow his arms formed their own shield. Dream Peeta ran his strong hand down her back and back up, shooting warmth up her spine. She could feel a smile appearing on her lips as she gave into his scent and leaned into the base of his throat where she inhaled the sweet smell of freshly made bread.

"You okay?" Dream Peeta asked her.

"I'm just tired, very tired." Dream Katniss replied.

"Then you should get some sleep. I'll watch over things tonight." Tonight? Katniss' eyes grew confused and glanced up to realize that they were back in the Quarter Quell.

Slowly Katniss sat up and glanced around them. It felt like a dream but the air and smell were creepily realistic to her. The heat was already beating down through her skin and the shuffle of the leaves tickled her ears.

"Peeta?" Maybe her being captured and tortured in the Capitol was just another one of her nightmares? But that felt real. Now she was losing it.

"What's wrong?" Peeta sat up, rubbing the side of Katniss' arm.

"Where are we?"

"In the arena? Katniss... is everything alright?" He frowned.

"I was just...sorry...I must have been dreaming..." Katniss kept looking around, searching for something.

"What is it?" Peeta asked.

"Finnick...where's Finnick?" If they were back in the arena then Finnick had to be around.

"Are you okay?" Peeta's voice grew a little concerned.

"Finnick, where's Finnick?" She stood up, turned around and screamed as she saw Finnick's head hung from a tree branch.

"Katniss?" Peeta's hand approached her lower back which led her to jump and scream again.

"Why- how- what- what happen-?"

"You told me that you didn't want allies...you didn't want Finnick with us. Remember?"

Katniss frowned, trying to remember.

"W-wh-what?" She placed her hand over her chest, attempting to breathe.

"We killed him together. Katniss..." Peeta walked closer but Katniss backed away, losing her footing and fell onto her back.

Panic rose and Katniss tried to take deep breaths.

"We need to get going. Someone must have heard you scream and they'll be heading this direction. Come on." Peeta was never one to rush people, especially Katniss.

"No." Katniss calmly said.

"Katniss, we have to go!" Peeta's temper rose.

Now this was definitely not Peeta.

"Stay away.." Katniss' hand grabbed a log next to her and stood up.

"Katniss, we don't have any time."

Her fingers curled on a loose log and clung the wood to her chest.

"You're not Peeta" She stated.

The Peeta that stood in front of her gave a quick evil smirk and lunged towards her. Katniss quickly couched on the ground, covering her head with her arms and shut her eyes and prepare on what happened next. But nothing did.

"No!" Katniss could hear her echoes bounce through the room. Her arms were chained to the seat and a metal helmet rested on her head.

"Again!" A peacekeeper yelled behind a glass wall.

From the corner of her eyes, she could witness ten capitol workers studying her, analyzing, like a lab rat.

"Let me out of here!" Katniss yelled, trying to shake anything she could to wiggle out.

"I said again!" The same peacekeeper instructed.

A short sob fell from her lips as the helmet slid glasses across her eyes and a screen appeared. Katniss tried to close her eyes but the glasses zapped electricity to keep them from falling. Forcing her to watch Peeta kill tributes one after the other.


	7. World on Fire

The lights flickered each time the peacekeeper clicked the button. On cue the electricity zapped from her head to the bottom of her feet. They were on day fourteen on torturing her in different ways. Electrocuting her was probably their favorite because it seemed like she was there a lot more. Water boarding was Snow's favorite. He never admitted it but he would be in the back of the room, hands crossed with a smile imprinted on his face. Other times they would strap her into a chair, helmet on her head and forced her to watch made up scenes of people she loved become strangers. Peeta was the main attraction, trying to trick her that he was evil and the "true" monster that he was. Katniss was a bit unsure of what they were trying to get her to believe. It would have been great if she could talk to Finnick but she had been staying in another cell. Who knew if he was even alive.

"Again!" A voice shouted from the back. Katniss closed her eyes, ready for the zap to flow through her body. She clenched on the handcuffs and screamed at the pain.

Once she knocked out, the peacekeepers would drag her into another room for a different assignment. This time they were shoving her into a unfamiliar room. The peacekeeper shoved her once more and tied her down into a chair, snapped his fingers and two capitol people jogged towards the chair. Together they began to cut off her hair. Through this time, Katniss' braid had been left untouched. Now they were chopping it away.

Her eyes flicked towards the braid as a chunk fell to the ground and felt a tear fell with it.

_"But I hate it!" Katniss yelled at her father as her mother worked on her magic._

_"You want to keep helping me hunt, right?" Her father knelt in front of his daughter. Katniss only nodded._

_"Well, you'll have to keep your hair this way. Keeping it down is messy, besides...I can see your pretty face now." He smiled, patting his daughters cheek which made her smile. "Besides, you might even grow to love it." _

It seemed rediculous to cry over a hairdo but at the moment it seemed like it was the last piece of her home, of her father that was stripped away. Just like everything else. Katniss kept her eyes glued to the braid, taking deep breaths and dried her tears.

"Up!" The peacekeeper grabbed on her arm, pulling her off the chair and shoved her. Katniss stumbled but found her balance as she walked, taking a small glance at the tangled braid alone on the ground.

Just like other days, Katniss followed the peacekeepers into the next room, follow instructions and shut up. Sounded pathetic but there wasn't much for her to do.

She lost count how many passages they went through until they finally arrived. The peacekeeper shoved Katniss in the room alone and slammed the door behind her. She glanced around the empty room and noticed that they took her into a different cell. One much smaller.

"Wha-" Katniss asked.

But the lights went out and the room became pitch black.

* * *

Several hours passed and finally the door opened.

"What's your name?" The peacekeeper asked.

"Kat- Katniss Everdeen" Katniss stood, covering the light shining in her eyes.

The door closed right after that. Making the dark overcome the room.

* * *

A day later and the door opened again.

"Who are you?" The peacekeeper asked.

"Katniss Everdeen" Her eyes squinted.

But the door closed again.

* * *

Seven days passed or it could have been three, honestly she couldn't tell anymore. The cell had no window. No connection to the outdoors. They could have been keeping her for a whole year and it wouldn't have made a difference.

Katniss spent hours into a corner and wrapped herself into a ball. Often she sang to keep sane.

The door had remained closed that she thought maybe they had forgotten all about her. Food would magically appear through a slit once a day but that was the only interaction she received.

Slowly she slid her side on the ground and brought her knees towards her chest as she stared at the wall.

Images of Prim seemed so blurry. She couldn't remember if her sister had hazel or brown eyes. Did her mother have a mole behind her ear or was that just her imagination? What was Haymitch's favorite beverage?

_They're messing with your head, Katniss._

Sleep. All she needed was some rest and she'd regain her memory back.

"Up!" A voice shouted from the other side of the room. Immediately Katniss stood and squinted as a bright light appeared when the door opened.

"Name?" The man asked.

"Katniss.." Her throat felt dry as she mumbled the name.

"Katniss what?" He asked.

"Ever-" she frowned, trying to remember what the last half was. "deen. Katniss Everdeen"

but the door shut once more.

* * *

The sound of a ruffle snapped her from her slumber. Katniss instantly reached where the noise came from and gripped into the rats body. The small animal gave a few squeaks but she but the disturbance behind her. The slit that used to give her food had remained shut for the last week. No one had opened the door and they had failed to give her anything to eat. By her small luck, the room that she had been stuffed in had a few holes around the room that allowed rats to run back and forth.

After suffocating the poor creature, Katniss' worst part came up and that was peeling the fur off. The sound of the animal suffering wasn't the worst part but eating the meat raw made her gag. Each bite felt like death but she still ate slowly, trying to savor every nibble. Who knew when she would see another rat.

Once she finished her meal, she placed her back against the wall and closed her eyes humming a song her father often mumbled through the woods. She hummed up to the chorus when she stumbled on the next line. Suddenly a song that she new by heart was missing several words.

"Keep it together.." Katniss whispered.

Her hands clamped over her face breathing slowly.

* * *

A bright light beamed onto Katniss' closing eyes making her wake. Her hands blocked her eyesight until she finally adjusted to the brightness. There at the door stood a figure. The figure stood tall, staring down Katniss until he finally said,

"Who are you?"

Katniss kept quiet. If she answered with her name she'd surely be locked again. She swallowed hard.

"Kat-" she stopped, unsure how her name ended.

"Who are you?" Repeated the man.

"No one. I am no one." Katniss robotically said.

* * *

Sorry for the delay! I don't have exact days when I'll update or any promises because these chapters are very dark and will only get darker! It honestly takes me hours to finish a paragraph and that's just because I have to think dark. Sorry if this was a little too much but eh. Please stay tune!


	8. Seven Devils

The light flashed brightly into her narrow eyes. It had been over a month since she had seen anything besides the darkness. Her eyes needed to adjust but the guards didn't care. They continued flashing the light into her each eye until her pupils dilated back into normal.

Behind the thick glass stood President Snow watching every move that took place in the room. Next to him stood a peacekeeper waiting for his next instructions.

"How is she?" President Snow asked.

"Lost twenty pounds. Has several bruises along her arms and legs, we think it was self inflected. She has scratches around her lips and bite marks from the rats on her hands, blood pressure is low, eyesight is terrible-"

"So you'd say she's weak?" President Snow's eyes were glued on Katniss.

"Her body is extremely tired. We didn't let her sleep more than 2 hours while she was in the room. Commander Guile always let an alarm off each time she shut her eyes." The man explained. The President had a smile on his face with the new information.

"Give her a small meal then put her on the board. I want to know how much she remembers. I want to be updated every other hour." He finally took his eyes off Katniss and towards the peacekeeper.

"How are our other prisoners?" He asked.

"Odair is still under treatment. But the girl didn't make it."

"How so?" The President asked.

"She passed away at 18:00 hours after the first injection. Doctor thinks her body was a too weak."

Snow's eyebrows rose and glanced back at herwho was bring dragged onto a chair.

"Hm, pity." There was no sincere tone in his voice. Instead a smirk appeared on his face. "Show Ms. Everdeen evidence of the girl. I want her to gain those memories and know what we're capable of. But, first find out what she knows."

The peacekeeper nodded once.

"Yes, sir."

With that Snow left the room having two guards behind him. The peacekeeper entered the room where she remained. She squinted her eyes to make out the face but only saw blurry figures across the room.

"What's your name?" He asked.

"M-m-my nam-name?" She asked slowly.

"What is your name?" He pulled out a weapon behind him.

"My-my name?" She asked again.

The peacekeeper turned on a switch, pressing the metal piece to her neck sending electric shocks against her skin. She screamed grabbing the side of the chair to handle the pain. Once it was shut off she gasped for air.

"What is your name?" He asked with more force.

"K-K-Kat." She responded. All she could remember was the first three letters. Everything else just trailed off her mind.

"What district are you from?" Asked the man.

"Uh, hm, uh..." She whispered. She could remember that it started with a 1. Maybe 11 or 10. But the number 12 shined through somehow.

"12." She said after a minute.

"Name your friends." The peacekeeper demanded.

Katniss...or "Kat" frowned. Memories came in blurry visions but the smell of bread lingered for some reason. Blonde hair skimmed through her head and a fall figure. But, Kat couldn't pinpoint any names.

"I-I don't know." She finally said. Had she had any friends?

"Get up." The peacekeeper grabbed her arm, yanking her to her feet and dragged her towards the board that laid in the middle of the room.

Her body flinched and pulled away. "No." She whispered.

The man didn't listen to her and continued to pull. She shook her head, knowing what the board meant. Her body couldn't take it anymore. She dropped to her knees, clinging to anything she could but all she got was the floor. She shook her head rapidly feeling water fill her eyes and crawled away as if she were a real life cat.

"No!" She protested.

Two other men entered the room and whacked her a few times with their batons. Her body gave out and fell face into the concrete floor. The men grabbed her and dragged her towards the board as if she were a rag doll. They tied straps on her arms and legs. Kat trembled as the peacekeepers placed a cloth over her face.

"Who are you?" One of the men spoke.

"Kat." She merely whispered.

"Who's Peeta?" They asked.

Bread. Warmth. Kind. She couldn't picture a face but the sound of the name gave her heart a flutter.

"I don't know." She answered.

"Who's Gale?" They asked.

Childhood. Partner. Freedom.

"I don't know." She said quietly.

"Bring the machine." The peacekeeper ordered.

Kat jolted, trying to move if she could but was unsuccessful.

"What are you do-" But the wind was knocked out of her once a baton whacked her stomach.

"Don't speak unless given permission." She nodded trying to gasp for air.

She couldn't see anything but her ears told her that a cart was being wheeled toward her. It stopped at the top of her head and felt something cold strapped to her forehead. Next needles were inserted in both her arms.

"Who are you?" The man repeated.

"Kat"

"Who's Peeta?"

The same feeling surrounded her chest. For a second she almost felt safe.

"I don't know." She answered.

Silence. Then...

"She's lying."

Before Kat could ask anything a gallon of water fell on her face. No matter how many ways she turned the water filled both her nose and mouth. She felt her lungs giving out. Anytime she thought that it was over, they would repeat the same scenario. They asked. She answered. Even if she didn't lie, they would continue.

* * *

After the water boarding, they threw Kat back into her isolated black hole. She shook uncontrollably and curled herself into a ball. She wasn't sure if she should move or try sleeping. She had no idea why they were doing this to her or even if there would be an end to all of this suffering. They hadn't given her a proper meal in over three weeks and now her meat was slowly eating itself away. Bones were seen on her ribcage and Kat just felt overall tired.

The peacekeepers kept her in water boarding room asking her questions about her past and anytime she remembered they would fill her lungs with water until the sound of the name made her flinch. The names Peeta, Gale, and Haymitch made her shiver. Every now and then the name 'Effie' or 'Madge' would appear but she couldn't remember much.

A couple hours later the door swung open and Kat already knew what that meant. She forced herself to stand and walk toward the man. He pushed her forward. She allowed him to shove until they came to a hallway. In front of her was a glass into a room that had a blanket over a body. She was afraid to ask why they were here.

The peacekeeper behind her mumbled something and a man appeared inside the room. The man walked toward the covered body pulling the blanket. There laid a kid. No more than 13 years old. Her features looked sweet and adorable if it weren't for the lack of coloring of her skin. The girl had a blonde braid.

For a moment Kat stood sill. Unsure what she was feeling. She didn't recognize this girl. But the pain in her chest told her something different.

She felt her body falling but the peacekeeper held her up.

"Do you know who she is?" He asked.

Kat shook her head feeling her hands tremble as she placed them on the glass.

"That's your little sister. She died because of you. Did you know that? Your little sister died because of you." She could hear the peacekeeper laughing in her ear.

Kat clung onto her chest trying to take deep breaths. Short images of a small figure crawling into her bed, of a small figure giggling, of a small figure asking her to sing, of a small figure being scared.

"P-prim..." Kat whispered.

"What was that?" The peacekeeper asked while he roared with laughter.

Maybe it was the pain, anger, or something in between but Kat turned around wrapping her hands around the mans neck. With every ounce of energy she had left she pinned the man against the wall glaring into his eyes. She wanted to kill. The man gasped under her grip but none of that mattered. She wanted to witness the life flicker out of his eyes. The man slammed his forehead against hers causing her to fall backward. He gripped his stomach, taking out his weapon and struck it against Kat's chest. She screamed and he kept striking her with his electricity baton until she was finally knocked out.

* * *

"Ah finally." A bloody voice filled her ears.

Kat's eyes fluttered open staring towards where the voice came from. A man with a beard approached her.

"Who are you?" Her hoarse voice asked.

"Ah, yes. Where are my manners? Of course, you don't remember me. My name is President Snow. We've met before, you see." His smile rubbed her the wrong way.

She glanced down seeing her body once again strapped into a chair.

"Why did you kill my sister?" Her eyes still burned. Somehow the tears wouldn't stop falling.

"Excellent question. You see, your sister was one of the many citizens that our hovercrafts picked up many many days ago. Your people were running from home and we were lucky to be the ones to capture them. Well, both your sister and mother. Your mother was gravely injured and unfortunately didn't survive the first 24 hours. But, your sister was a true trooper. She tried negotiating with me. To let you go and we'd keep her captive. Very intelligent that one was. We had plans to keep her longer but you took far too long to erase your memories and decided to go another path. But, sadly, those plans didn't work the way I wanted to."

Every word spat like venom to her ears.

Kat swallowed hard, staring at the man in the face until she said.

"Kill me."

The President smiled.

"Excuse me?"

"Kill me!" She yelled.

"I will, Ms. Everdeen. When the time is right." He smiled.

He nodded to someone and a second later Kat felt a needle inserted into her neck.

Her eyes suddenly felt heavy. She slowly began closing them seeing the image of Prim giggling in the background.

"Pri-" were her last words until she drowse into a deep sleep.

[Sorry for not updating! Work, school, life, etc. got in the way. Hope you all enjoy and sorry but this chapter was a little difficult to write. I do plan on writing a good 12-15 chapters for this story! Stay tuned!)


	9. Broken Crown

There was emptiness to the girl. She stared into oblivion most of the day. Not a single soul came into the puny room that she was kept in. Food was presented to her once every three days. These sadistic people were slowly starving her to death. The girl often scraped the remaining of her nails against the wall just so she had something to do. A hum in her voice wanted to make a rhythm of a song that she used to know but nothing came. Instead she just gave a small yelp. Her head cocked to the side as she stared at the white wall.

_1 week later..._

The girl's memory had been completely erased. A man in a white uniform stormed into the room where the girl was kept and brought her to another location where she was strapped to machines and forced to watch a screen. The same videos played on repeat. A young guy with blonde hair killed a kid with a rock. Another young guy with brown hair murdered young children. And another few faces that committed crimes that the girl had to look away by how angry she got.

On the fifth day, a younger man sat in front of the girl. Both their doctors were collecting the next slides when the two patients looked at each other. Both had the same puzzled expression.

"Who are you?" The young man asked.

He couldn't be older than 25. A very handsome, muscular type of man. The kind that probably had a gorgeous smile if he didn't look so miserable and beaten down.

"I don't know" The girl admitted.

Truth is she had been left alone with her own thoughts that she couldn't remember who she was. This was probably the first conversation that she had in the last month. No one looked at her and the guards never said a word to her. All she knew was how terrified she was from these man in uniforms and the man with the white beard.

"I think my name started with an F.." The guy said quietly.

"Hey!" The guard came marching over to the pair.

Immediately the patients looked away from each other and stood up straight. The guard stayed with them until the doctors finished their tasks. The girl had a guard take her away first but she took one last glance at the man who's name started with an F. Wondering if she would see him again.

Everyday the girl was strapped into the doctors chair and just like a routine, she was also forced to watch the videos. It wasn't until she stopped flinching at them was when the guards took her into a new room.

This room was different than the rest. It had equipment that could possibly hurt others. The guard pushed a dummy towards the girl. Afterwards he pushed another cart towards her. In this new cart had weapons like knives, axes, any sharp related object. He stepped out of the room. The girl looked confused for a second but before she could question anything, a huge screen appeared from the window and replayed the same videos that she saw before. She saw the blonde young man, the brown haired muscular man and felt herself get angry. The hatred that boiled in the pit of her stomach built enough energy for her grab the first weapon and jumped on the dummy knocking it down and continuously stabbed the fake body. She yelled loudly that the room echoed back her bitterness.

_4 days later..._

The girl was brought to the same weapon room. Where she was able to pick a knife, axe, or anything sharp and attack the dummies in the room. The videos of people killing children played in the background so the girl could channel her anger.

_1 week later..._

For the last days the schedule had remained the same. The guards would gather the girl and led her towards the training center. There was always two doors they had to pass. The guards would take off the second she entered the first room and the locks automatically locked behind her. Then the door towards the training center opened up and she would step in and practice with the weapons that were laid in front of her.

But someone was already in the room when she entered the training center. The man who's name started with an F drank from a water bottle.

"Hey there." He panted out.

There was sweat dripping from his forehead.

"H-hey" She responded back.

"Thought they wiped you off for good." He closed the water bottle.

"They practically did." She walked towards the cart with the weapons.

"No talking." A voice boomed from the speakers.

The two exchanged a look but closed their mouths. Instead she grabbed a small knife, felt the grip on her fingers and threw it towards the dummy that hung from the ceiling. Bullseye. She smirked to herself. The first couple of days her throwing was miserable and didn't even go near the dummy.

"Nice one" He smiled.

She grabbed another knife, looked at the handle, then glanced up at the mirrors that were on the second story. She could never see who was on the other side but she had the feeling that she was watched anytime she stepped into the room. A sudden rush of anger fluttered the pit of her stomach. But she followed her eyes to the dummy and tossed her knife, hitting it right on the neck.

"I'm getting out of here, you know." She whispered quietly, almost too afraid to be heard.

She wasn't so sure if guy standing next to her heard her.

"Me too." He whispered back.

They looked at each other and knew they had to plan something soon. Who knew if the walls had ears or if they would ever see each other again. It was going to be today or continue living their lives like some zombie solider. At least they weren't alone. They were going to try and escape or die trying.


End file.
